


the greatest joy of all

by vanillanemo



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Grace fixes everything, Motherly love, Sibling Bonding, no beta readers we die like men, the other hargreeves and pogo are briefly mentiond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 21:47:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18199742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillanemo/pseuds/vanillanemo
Summary: Grace does what she's programmed to do. She protects her kids.





	the greatest joy of all

She hides around the corner as four of her children filter out of the elevator, leaving their sister locked away downstairs. Diego storms away, Klaus disappears into his room (holding the door open long enough that she suspects Ben's ghost is with him, like usual), and Luther takes a very upset Allison by the arm and leads her into her room, closing the door behind them.

Normally, Grace might protest that, but she has more important things to focus on.

Once the coast is clear, she leans down and removes her heels. Her programming only allows for no shoes in an emergency situation, but... this counts.

The carpets help muffle the patter of her feet as she walks along the hallway, and into the lift. She slides the wall aside to reveal the hidden control panel, and enters the code that makes the lift operate silently. Sir Hargreeves had always hated the noise of the lift but had wanted to ensure the children couldn't use it without him knowing.

Down it goes to the basement, the light flickering over her face which makes it hard for her optical sensors to adjust to the lower light levels, but eventually she reaches the bottom and her vision settings correct themselves accordingly.

She leaves her heels in the elevator as she hurries along the grim, dark corridor. She can see Vanya through the little window, see her pressed against the door as she cries, and God, if Grace had a heart it would be broken right now.

The door is tighter than usual, Luther having ensured it was tight enough that his siblings wouldn't be able to open it. But Grace has strength enough to match all of her children, and the wheel gives way under her hands.

She opens the door, and Vanya falls out into her arms, sobbing.

They sit on the floor just outside the cell for a long time, Grace holding her daughter close as she cries over the betrayal. But finally, Vanya wipes her eyes, looks up at Grace, and whispers "Thank you, Mom."

"You're welcome dear," Grace says, with a smile. "Why don't you come upstairs with me, and we'll get you something to eat?"

"Waffles with caramel sauce?" Vanya asks, and goodness she just looks so small like this. So small, and scared, just like she was when she was four years old and Sir Hargreeves locked her up for the first time.

"Of course." Grace stands, and then holds out her hand to help Vanya up.

Vanya lets Grace lead her back up the hallway into the elevator, never once letting go of her hand (which makes putting her heels back on a little difficult, but Grace won't complain about her daughter needing her). They wander out into the main part of the house, Grace using her heat sensors to do a quick sweep.

There's two signatures in Allison's room - probably still her and Luther, Klaus in his room, Pogo in his study and the cooler signature of Diego in the kitchen.

Diego looks up from his place at the table when they walk in, a cup of tea untouched on the table in front of him. "Vanya," he says, in a low, relieved exhale. "Are you okay?"

She clings harder to Grace as she shakes her head, tears brimming at her eyes again.

"Vanya, sweetie, I promise you that I won't let anyone hurt you. Understand? Not even your other siblings."

Vanya looks up at her and nods shakily, and Grace smiles.

"Would you like to help me make waffles, or would you like to sit down?"

"Sit down."

Grace pulls out a chair, leaving an empty space between Vanya and Diego. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Hot chocolate, please?"

"All right dear. Diego, would you like waffles?"

"Uh, yeah, thanks Mom."

Her children sit in silence as she makes hot chocolate and then waffles, their plates piled high. Vanya drowns hers in caramel while Diego adds a little honey.

The kitchen is quiet in that non-silent way, as their cutlery clinks against their plates and Grace washes dishes behind them, but she can tell neither of them are quite comfortable. There's a lot of tension between all of her children, but Diego and Vanya are probably the two with the most, given that he has been the most outspoken about her autobiography.

She clears the table when they're done, and its only then that Diego breaks the silence.

"I'm sorry, Vanya. I've... I've been a horrible brother."

Vanya looks at him, regards him with her dark brown eyes, before she says, "I think we're all bad at being siblings. It's nothing to be sorry about."

"You're right about that, we are all bad at it but... you didn't deserve to be locked up. I should have fought harder against Luther, should have pressed it more. You were right, you know. You wrote that book and you said I had authority issues because I was Number Two. I wasn't really ready to admit that to myself, which I think is part of why I got so angry towards you. But looking back on my life so far, its glaringly obvious. Its why I dropped out of the police academy, why I can't ever hold down a real job. I hate taking orders from people, and I hate the fact that I always cave in the end. But irregardless of whatever issues I have, however angry I might have been about your book, its still no excuse to treat you the way I did.

"I'm sorry for everything when we were kids, I'm sorry for not trying harder to build something once we were adults and out from under Dad's thumb, I'm sorry for how awful I've been to you since you published your book, and I'm sorry for letting Luther lock you up."

They were quiet for a long moment, then Vanya pulled out the chair between them and switched, taking Diego's hands in hers, making him look at her.

"I forgive you for everything that happened when we were kids. We weren't exactly taught to be nice to each other, and you guys were discouraged from including me. None of us knew better, and it's in no way your fault.

"I forgive you for not reaching out after we all moved out. I think... I think we _all_ needed to find our own space and figure out who we were, and it would have been difficult to try and build something when we didn't even know ourselves yet. I never reached out to you either, to any of you.

"I forgive you for not pushing back harder against Luther today. Like you said, you always cave in the end. And that's no fault of yours, that's the way that Dad raised and conditioned you to be. And if you'd gotten physical, in that small space, then there's a good chance you could have gotten hurt, or Allison and Klaus  could have, and I'm not worth that."

"You're worth the world, Vanya," Diego said. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, especially me."

She smiled. "Thanks. I um... I don't know that I'm quite ready to forgive about how you reacted to my book. That letter you wrote me... It really hurt. But... I accept your apology. I just need a little bit more time on that one."

"I don't deserve your forgiveness."

"You deserve the world, Diego." Her voice turned teasing as she said, "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

He chuckled. "T-Thanks, Vanya."

"Is it alright if I hug you?" she asked, voice small again. Perfectly understandable, since the last time one of her brothers hugged her... well.

"Only if I get to hug you back. "

I ts an awkward embrace, but there's so much feeling there. Vanya's hands press flat against his back, while Diego bunches a handful of her sweater with one hand and winds the other into her hair.

Grace stands on the side, smiling with pride. They've both come so far since she was created for them.

All of them have, really. Luther's gone a little too far in the wrong direction, but he just needs a little guidance back onto the right path. 

But she's happy to do that. Its what she was made for, what she lives for. The greatest joy of all.

Mothering these extraordinary kids.


End file.
